Pine Ridge July

Yes, after an early start for Wallop Wings & Wheels, it was another early one the following day to go to Pine Ridge for the breakfast meet. Apparently last month it was a bit sparse, not so this time, we just about got the last space.

About the first thing we saw was my nephew & his new car - I say new, it's 95 years old. He drove it home from Yorkshire & the only part that gave any trouble was the new computerised distributor.

Blue & orange - it's the future.

School bus, you just would wouldn't you?

Yes, of course is has a V8

Two Pops, the one on the right is pretty extreme, until you look at the one on the left, which is 10 litres & runs the standing 1/4 in 7 1/2 seconds. Let's put that in perspective. If you were to drive past that Pop at 100mph & it set off as you past it, it would get to the 1/4 mile line a second & a half before you.

Ford '32 model B

It's a land crab, but not as you know it.....

It's an Australian "Ute" (utility) sent to Aus as a knock-down kit.

Now that would be a good photo if it wasn't for the Challenger & the people.

Lovely '57 Chevy Two door Bel-Air Sport Coupe - rolls off the tongue doesn't it? 

Almost Forgot

 My lovely girlfriend & I attended the Grimsthorpe Speed Trials this year. It's just a run up the driveway of Grimsthorpe Castle - some of the competitors were trying, others were just having a nice day out - & when you have one of the spectacular old cars in attendance - why not?

There were a few cars in a concours area outside the castle, & a paddock with the competing cars & bikes, it was all very laid back, all very pleasant, apparently smaller than in previous years, but there was another event on the same weekend which will have depleted the numbers a bit.

The first thing to attract my attention (after the signpost to the loos) was this. someone's pretty serious when they have a vintage transporter to move their Bugatti about.

Not a '36 Ford as I had thought, but a '36 Plymouth - & people say modern cars all look the same, this was absolutely stunning.

It's rare to see two Austin sevens that look even similar, but these two were almost identical, same model, same colour, only the after-market lights & some stickers differed

Coachbuilt MG was very nice & really quite swoopy, but.......

.....rather out done by the car next to it. 

By the way, that's not an over-large bonnet mascot, it's a statue behind the car - sack the photographer.

This Bentley had similar levels of sheer style, compare that to a Bentayga 

The prototype of this Seven Special was at Brooklands a couple of weeks before, I think the notes said about 50 were built for racing, is seems at least two survived. Not comfortable for the passenger / mechanic sitting beside & behind the driver. 

Morgan - brilliant

Ratty Bugatti looked absolutely fantastic.

No idea which one came on the transporter.

Yes it gets driven on the road like that, there's videos on youtube, the previous weekend it had been racing on the beach at Bridlington. Perhaps the owner's building it from one of those magazines where you get a few parts each week & the body hasn't come yet?

It stark contrast, this was wafting up the course making no noise at all. Of course it's a Bentley.

Big headlights

Even bigger brakes

Amilcar - just stunning

Riley looked fast even when it wasn't moving.

Got to have an Alfa at a motorsport event.

ERA was a new-build & wasn't sparing the horses, it did the run in a little over half the time most cars did it in.

And then the BBMF's Lancaster did a few fly-bys just for good measure.

Castle - Bugatti - Lancaster

Excellent

Is that ULEZ compliant?

It was a two-stroke AND VERY VERY NOISY INDEED

Results - I don't think many people cared, we'd all just had a nice day out.

Wallop '25

With the tail lights looking fabulous (all four done now), it seemed a good time to show the car off. Fortunately it was booked into "Wallop Wings & Wheels". We set off bright & early with the Sat Nav constantly saying "Turn around where possible" because it thought junction 4 of the M3 was closed - it wasn't.

We were parked up on the first row of the show field next to a 2CV, so as the show cars were still coming in, we went to look at the planes. The selection was interesting rather than spectacular, but we got a few photos in before the crowds arrived. this one is an Auster from the Army Air collection.

There was a very early Bell - we should see this fly at Shuttleworth next time.

Unfortunately around this time the compare started talking, think local hospital radio DJ, irritating but not overly so, but then the music started, there was a variety for maybe half a dozen songs, then the Eagles came on - not the good tracks, the country & western end of the repertoire. Then more, then more, then it was all repeated, track after track. We were getting really quite cross. Only as we left did "Life In The Fast Lane" & "Hotel California" come on.

It's not an air show, but there is some flying & it was opened by a red Arrows flypast, after which we got on with the serious business of looking at cars.

There was quite a variety, though an awful lot of Morgans 

Nice old Seven, an actual Lotus, with "God's own engine" (a Crossflow) & in the right colour.

 Alpines - original & modern, the original probably has more luggage space.

lovely old Aston Martin

I've seen this a few times, it's lovely - though I am biased towards a 100e (yes, I know that's a 300e). This one's a little odd as it has BL running gear - an MGB engine, hence the signwriting (H Ford, MG Spares - Dagenham & Cowley), but the style & finish is excellent.

I liked this AH3000 too, the black with cream roundels, very nice.

Very nice TVR Grantura, there were a couple of rows of TVRs, I'm affraid they lost me after the Cerbera, just way too outlandish - & I'm the one that likes Hot Rods

Can you tell that was designed before speed cameras? 😁

It needs some orange though.

Next the RAF Falcons parachute display team did a jump, they were very good - certainly better than the RAF woman doing the talking for them, "If anyone sees the plane they're going to jump out of, can you point it out for me". "This is just a sighting pass, they won't jump yet - oh - they're jumping". "Now they're doing the such & such formation - oh no - that's the something else formation".

After that a recently civilianised Lynx did a display - getting into some of the "helicopters-can't-do-that" positions that a proper Lynx display does. The following photos are not rotated.

This aircraft isn't currently cleared for the more extreme manoeuvres the Lynx is capable of.

After the Lynx, the Army Air Corps put on a very spectacular display with loud bangs & fireballs, but by this time we'd been wandering round a field with no shelter in 32degree heat for six hours, we'd drunk all the bottles of drink & had gone to hide from the sun in the museum, I've seen photos other people took & it was really quite spectacular - but not worth collapsing with heat exhaustion for.

So at 4:00 we wandered back to the Stylus past this '40 Ford & the Consul Capri - shame on Ford for calling that electric barge "Capri" - it's not even a Ford, it's a VW in a brightly coloured frock.

Any ideas?

It's a Datsun 240Z that's been soft topped. Never seen one before.